In the paper industry, starch is used as an adhesive in coating compositions. The starch binds the pigment to the paper web and also bonds pigment particles together. Starches which are employed as adhesives in coating compositions are usually modified by one of several methods, such as enzymatic degradation, acid hydrolysis, oxidation, or dextrinization. Each process has its own merits and deficiencies, but each is successful to some degree in producing a starch of a desired reduced viscosity for use in coatings. But attendant with the use of some of the modification processes are many problems of discoloration, retrogradation of the converted material, high viscosity if the product is cooled too quickly or stored too long before use, and loss of adhesive strength.